Ah, in review, it would seem that indeed my memory about the bow was indeed incorrect. Still, the other two I noted remain.
Link using the hookshot against the water temple boss
Link pushing with is right shoulder (note, you do get to see his left-handed use of the bow here)
Both are particularly interesting. Link is not using the hookshot in combination with his sword: he specifically puts it away when he grabs out his sword, and the reverse is also true. His left hand is right there, he could easily have used it to operate it, but he does not. Nor does he use anything else with the hookshot, insofar as I have been able to find.
Link's use of the Hookshot and Longshot in his right hand in OoT is an interesting quandary. When I first played OoT, this stood out to me because he did almost everything else in the game with his left hand. At the time I concluded that it must be proper left-handed form, since grappling is a context action that enables the dominant hand to undertake more specific actions. For example, one can hold themselves steady on a boat with their non-dominant hand so that they may pilot with their dominant hand.
But you make a good point about the Hookshot not being used in combination with anything in the game. And, more importantly, subsequent Links used the Hookshot (or its equivalent) in their left hands. There are a number of possible explanations for why the OoT Link would hold it in his right hand. The most satisfying to me is that the original intent was for the game to allow grappling and swordplay at the same time. We know that OoT had a number of gameplay aspirations that it wasn't able to meet (such as horseback combat beyond just the archery). This may have been one of those shortfalls. We know that Link uses his shield in his right hand, and in that sense the Hookshot could be a homologue.
But after a quick google I couldn't find any indication that that is what happened. Another possibility is that they made a creative-level decision (rather than a gameplay one) that he would use it with his right-hand so that his left hand would remain free more often. Still another possibility is that they made a different creative-level decision that the Hookshot, a major piece of equipment, wouldn't fit on his person in a way that would facilitate efficient left-handed use.
The developers were very meticulous with their design and this can't be a mistake, yet that Link is clearly left-handed. I'd love to ask the development team what the truth is! They'd roll their eyes and laugh at their crazy fans. Especially if I had it shipped there and back with UPS Express Critical, which apparently would let me charter a private airplane for the fastest possible delivery.
The fact that I recently moved also means that I am quite familiar with people's tendency to "put their backs into it" with their dominant side: that Link pushes with his right side indicates that his right side is his dominant side.
This, on the other hand, has very little merit. Pushing is another context activity, and heavy pushing relies more on leg power--which would come disproportionately from the side of the body opposite to being pushed. I've done enough heavy moving to know that much. And, in Link's case, pushing with his right side leaves his left side free. Given that his enemies are all around him, that's probably just good sense.
What's strange, though, is that in the video you provide, his
pulling actually does take a right-legged stance, since it's the closer leg to the object rather than the farther one which provides the most force. What could this be? Is he left-handed but double-legged? Is there something about pulling which causes him to favor a right-dominant approach? Is this a very rare instance of a subtle art mistake by the developers?
And then there is the fact that he grabs equipment, such as the ocarina, out from behind his back with his right hand. And reaches into big chests with his right hand first.
Indeed, I covered that when I spoke of scripted sequences. I should have covered a clause about trivial actions, and maybe another one for actions which one deliberately undertakes with their non-dominant hand because of a risk to the hand undertaking the action. He probably takes the ocarina in his right hand because it rests on his right side. Reaching into treasure chests is a trivial enough grabbing action, but one that (in a magic world, anyhow), entails risks. It could also simply be that he is only "merely" left-handed rather than extremely so. Some people will go out of their way to favor their dominant hand. Others will use their non-dominant hand for some actions if it is more convenient to do so.
And when he pulls out the Master sword? Right hand is on top.
The resolution on the video is very poor. It looks first like his right hand is on top, and later the left, and also it looks as though the left hand is wrapped around the right. It's not clear enough for me to say what all is happening, and I must admit I never did catch that particular detail! (Bully to you for noticing something on my pet subject which I did not!)
But if you are correct, and his right hand is on top, then that would be correct left-handed form anyway, because the sword is upside down and the "top" hand is actually closer to the pommel of the sword, which is where the non-dominant hand normally would be in a two-handed sword grip. (Of course, one could easily argue that at that point he was merely retrieving the sword from the stone as an object and not holding it as one would hold a sword.) I'm tempted to call this ambiguous to the point of irrelevance.
I would also think that if he was left handed that he'd wear the Goron Bracelet on his right hand (just as a left-hander might wear their watch on their right hand), but that is admittedly far more debatable.
It grants gripping and lifting strength. It makes perfect sense for him to wear it on his dominant hand. (And, for what it's worth, I wear my wristwatch on my left hand. That does require right-handed operation, but it means left-handed use. And, while I might look at my watch a hundred times in a day, I can go for weeks without having to press one of its buttons.)
Still, that said, there really is no reason for even Wii Twilight Princess to be right-handed only, and much less for Skyward Sword. Being able to mirror the controls, and in turn the appearance of the game, doesn't seem like that complex of a task.
I would rather just Link be mirrored, rather than the entire environment, but, yeah...even if mirroring Link would have been prohibitive, mirroring the environment would not have.
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@ Katie Skyye:
That was thoughtfully said. Thank you for clearing it up. I hope you will not let certain argumentative people whose names entail a letter J spoil your goal of participating more around here.
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@ Truthordeal:
Just condense the wording of sentences throughout your work. No need to cut an entire line. Or, you may find another line elsewhere that can easily be cut.
